The Associated Press.
February 19, 2002,
Agribusiness company involved in dispute with farmers who are reusing seeds
SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, N.J.
Farmers who are reusing harvested seeds find themselves in a dispute with
an agribusiness giant.
Monsanto Co. objects to the practice and has dispatched private
investigators to check out reports of farmers recycling its seed.
"They showed up at my door (at) 6 o'clock in the morning," said Scott Good,
a soybean grower in Southampton Township. "They flipped a badge out. It
wasn't polite, what they were saying. They acted like FBI." Good is now the
target of a federal lawsuit. In addition to lawsuits, Monsanto has filed
hundreds of complaints about farmers misusing its genetically altered
cotton, canola, corn and soybean seeds.
"Not only do we feel we have an obligation to the other farmers" who abide
by the rules, Monsanto spokeswoman Lori Fisher said, "but we've obviously
invested a lot of money into this technology."
The dispute involves Roundup Ready seeds, which are bioengineered to
withstand the company's Roundup weed killer. The chemical kills just about
any other plant. A sack of Roundup Ready seed costs several dollars more
than a bag of conventional seed.
Gary Woodend, a lawyer contacted by Good, said the farmer offered to hand
over his entire 2001 crop to Monsanto, but the company rejected the proposal.
"I think their real motive is to try to make an example out of him and put
him out of business," Woodend said.
Fisher said the company has no such motive.
"If people are willing and able to settle, I can't think of any case we've
settled where the person wasn't able to continue to farm," she said.